Creation
Kat MellonWho owns what you create?Creation is a provocative exploration of what it means to be free. Set in a dystopian future where creativity is exclusively harnessed for the greater good, two artistically talented individuals remind us all never to take for granted the product of our own work and imagination.Creation is inspired by Ayn Rand’s Anthem and Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go.
ExcerptThe buzzer sounds. It is time to work. Everyone shuffles into their rooms. The door clicks shut and I know that I cannot leave. I quickly use the restroom, drink a glass of water, then sit down at my table to work.My room, like all of our rooms, is bare. White. Dull. Vacant. I have a lamp, a desk, and a chair. Nothing else. Our clothing is all the same and is stored in the common changing room. Some of the other Creators have a work of some sort—a painting, a sculpture, a mural—in their rooms. They had HOF approval. I have never asked because I could never choose one single work. I often wonder how the HOF has time to make so many approvals anyway. I don’t want to bother him.I open the Slab and begin to type.Jim stepped into the front door of his five-story home. The fish in his wall-to-wall tank stared back at him blankly. He wasn’t expecting any sign of recognition from these creatures. He merely enjoyed looking at them after a long day at work.I stop writing. Wes’ words are finally getting to me. What if homes are real? Fish? The capacity to keep fish in a home? What if we truly Create these things? I close the Slab and sigh, and my hands slap the desk.No one will know. The ticket is still sitting at the corner of my desk. I have not filed it yet. I am nervous. I grab the ticket between my thumb and forefinger and pull it toward me. I look around even though I know no one is watching, and then I raise it to my face.
About the Author
Kat is a young author living in Fort Collins, CO. She graduated cum laude from the University of New Mexico with a BA in English at age nineteen and is a master of procrastination and pizza eating. She will soon query agents with her biggest and baddest novel, Flowers When You're Dead.
